DreamWorks
For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
DreamWorks
But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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Scandal star Jeff Perry has launched a Kickstarter.com campaign to bring a real-life murder story to the big screen. Perry was turned on to a script based on tragic Ron Moore's life by actor pal Cullen Douglas, and now he's trying to raise funds to make a film about his life.
Moore's son Aaron shot his mother and sister before turning the gun on himself in 1996.
Perry tells TheWrap.com, "I didn't know of this occurrence, but it reverberates through dozens of occurrences you and I could recount from the last two years of newspapers.
"This is asking the question: how do humans ever find the ability to breathe again, live again and, in Ron's case, heal to the point of having a real life and hope and love?"
Moore was working with Douglas on a book about the tragedy, but the two decided his story would make a good movie.
Douglas, who will star in the film, worked with Perry to enlist his casting director wife Linda Lowy, as well as actors Elizabeth Perkins and KaDee Strickland for the movie.
However, money remains the biggest obstacle for the filmmakers, so they have turned to the fundraising website to raise $500,000 (GBP330,300).

IFC Films
As the winds of award show nominations pick up, you won't be surprised to find 12 Years a Slave at the top of every list. But the Academy, the Golden Globes, and the various other captains of the circuit are inclined to overlook some of our smaller, more personal favorites in lieu of the big, grand, and wholly unavoidable awardable pictures like Steven McQueen's American slavery epic. That is not to rob 12 Years of Slave of its due credit — the film absolutely deserves as much awards attention as it is getting. It's simply the sort of movie that you know will get awards attention right out of the gate... whereas pictures just as pristine such as Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's Frances Ha, likely won't be the center of attention come Oscar night. But that's what the Independent Spirit Awards are for: to recognize the movies that we cherish with intimacy rather than with grandeur. Among them are Frances Ha, new release Nebraska, Robert Redford's nearly wordless All Is Lost (also a viable candidate for the Academy, due to its own dezzling veneer), the Coen Bros' upcoming Inside Llewyn Davis, and, yes, of course, 12 Years a Slave.
Check out the full list of nods below.
BEST FEATURE 12 Years A Slave All Is Lost Frances Ha Inside Llewyn Davis Nebraska
BEST LEAD FEMALE Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine Julie Delpy, Before Midnight Gaby Hoffman, Crystal Fairy Brie Larson, Short Term 12 Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now
BEST LEAD MALE Bruce Dern, Nebraska Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club Robert Redford, All Is Lost
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale StationSally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave Yolanda Ross, Go For Sisters June Squibb, Nebraska
BEST SUPPORTING MALE Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave Will Forte, Nebraska James Gandolfini, Enough Said Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club Keith Stanfield, Short Term 12
BEST DIRECTOR Shane Carruth, Upstream Color J.C. Chandor, All Is Lost Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave Jeff Nichols, Mud Alexander Payne, Nebraska
BEST FIRST FEATUREBlue Caprice Concussion Fruitvale Station Una Noche Wadjda
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD Computer Chess Crystal Fairy Museum Hours Pit Stop This Is Martin Bonner
BEST SCREENPLAY Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Before Midnight Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said Scott Neustadter &amp; Michael H. Weber, The Spectacular Now John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Lake Bell, In A World Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon Bob Nelson, Nebraska Jill Soloway, Afternoon Delight Michael Starburry, The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister &amp; Pete
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYSean Bobbitt, 12 Years A Slave Benoit Debie, Spring Breakers Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis Frank G. Demarco, All Is Lost Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess
BEST EDITING Shane Carruth &amp; David Lowery, Upstream Color Jem Cohen &amp; Marc Vives, Museum Hours Jennifer Lame, Frances Ha Cindy Lee, Una Noche Nat Sanders, Short Term 12
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM A Touch Of Sin Blue Is The Warmest ColorGloriaThe Great Beauty The Hunt
BEST DOCUMENTARYThe Act Of Killing After Tiller Gideon's ArmyThe Square Twenty Feet From Stardom
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARDToby Halbrooks &amp; James M. JohnsonJacob JaffkeAndrea RoaFerderick Thornton
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARDS Kalyanee Mam, A River Changes Course Jason Osder, Let The Fire Burn Stephanie Spray &amp; Pancho Valez, Manakamana
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARDS Aaron Douglas Johnston, My Sisters' Quinceanera Shaka King, Newlyweeds Madeleine Olnek, The Foxy Merkins
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARDMud

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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Michael Tran/FilmMagic
So, the 2013 Emmys were very, um, interesting. There were some standard Neil Patrick Harris song and dance numbers, some off-colored gay jokes from Michael Douglas, an oddly dressed Melissa Leo, and Sarah Silverman being, well, Sarah Silverman. And as for the actual award portion of the show? Well, it was filled with a few pleasant surprises and some head-scratching upsets. In the words of NPH: "This just in. Nobody in America is winning their Emmy office pool. Surprises galore." Yup, that sounds about right. Here's our take on the five biggest surprises of the Emmys:
Supporting Actress - ComedyWinner: Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Merritt Wever, a newcomer to the Emmy race, was probably the most surprised person in the room when her name was called. It was definitely an upset (albeit, a good one) that Wever took home the award, considering she was up against Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock and Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen of Modern Family. And as a bonus, Wever gave the audience and viewers at home possibly the shortest and funniest speech of all time: "Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I gotta go... bye!" (If you're wondering why she looks so familiar, you've probably been watching her bring out Schmidt's inner nice guy on New Girl.)
Supporting Actor - ComedyWinner: Tony Hale, Veep
Heyyy, brother. In one of the most pleasant surprises of the night, Tony Hale (of Arrested Development fame) took home the Emmy for his role on Veep, beating out Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live and basically the entire male cast of Modern Family. Bonus: He made Julia Louis-Dreyfus' acceptance speech for Lead Actress in a Comedy one of the most memorable of the evening by assisting her during her speech, a la his right hand man character from the HBO comedy.
Supporting Actor - DramaWinner: Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire
Are they just repeating all the nominees? That's what we were all thinking when Bobby Cannavale, who plays Gyp Rosetti on Boardwalk Empire, nabbed the Emmy from the hands of Aaron Paul, Peter Dinklage, and Mandy Patinkin. Even more surprising, he's apparently dating Rose Byrne from Bridesmaids.
Lead Actor - DramaWinner: Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
So let's get this straight. Somehow, Jeff Daniels' performance in the first season (that's the worst one) of The Newsroom wowed the voters more than Kevin Spacey's Francis Underwood, Damian Lewis' Nicholas Brody, Jon Hamm's Don Draper, and Bryan Cranston's Walter White? What? And to top it all off, Daniels ferociously chewed a piece of gum during his acceptance speech. Heisenberg and Underwood would never let that fly.
Variety SeriesWinner: The Colbert Report
And in one of the best surprises of the night, Stephen Colbert finally put an end to The Daily Show's reign of victory with a win for the team at The Colbert Report. Looks like Jon Stewart shouldn't have taken such a long vacation...
More:Emmys 2013: And the Winners Are...The Funniest Emmys Moments of All TimeEmmy's 2013 Opening Act: Neil Patrick Harris Rallies Kimmel, Fallon, Jane Lych, Conan, Tina &amp; Amy
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Imagine a world in which Aaron Sorkin wrote all of Obama’s speeches. Pocket-sized American flag sales would sky-rocket and everyone would walk around drooling with patriotism. Now I’m not suggesting that I wish our real president was replaced by one of his cinematic counterparts but I am proposing that the following fake leaders of the free world would be good company at an ale house.
Kevin Kline in Dave
Full disclosure, I'd want to drink with Kevin Kline no matter what role he's playing, but as Dave, the Jimmy Stewart-esque mensch, I'd especially love to buy him a round of Sam Adams and get his views on all the ways he'd make America a sweeter place.
Michael Douglas in The American President
As a silver-fox widower, Douglas croons to Sorkin’s fast-cracking dialogue as he woos Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). He's commanding, he's likeable, and he's so downright sexy that I'd become a lobbyist just share a scotch with him.
Harrison Ford in Air Force One
The kind of multi-tasking ruler who can remember to tape his alma mater's football game while he executes diplomacy in Russia, would make for a pretty stellar darts partner.
Bill Pullman in Independence Day
President Whitmore is the ultimate man's man – a combat pilot who's not afraid to get his hands dirty (or die for that matter). Give him a shot of Jameson and watch him save the world.
John Travolta in Primary Colors
Because I just want to meet Bill Clinton.
Hugh Grant in Love Actually
Technically he was the prime minister and not a president but the way he served it to Sling Blade in the most overt diss to Bush was pretty empowering. Plus, getting him liquored up might lead to another impromptu Pointer Sisters dance party.
Aaron Eckhart in Olympus Has Fallen
Sure, he spends most of his reign as Potus mourning the loss of his hot wife, and trapped in a bunker, but he's a fab father and he doesn't succumb to terrorist demands. Not only would I buy him a beer, but I'd bring him a bevy of single women to audition for his second first wife.
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It was perplexing enough when the world decided to give one biopic to software engineer/documented oddball John McAfee. But perplexing enough just isn't perplexing enough: The Hollywood Reporter has linked Warner Bros. to a second developing film about the antivirus mogul and his various legal troubles throughout South America. News broke on Monday that the studio could be funding a cinematic project based on a Wired article ("John McAfee's Last Stand") about McAfee's alleged criminal activity. All this on top of December's announcement that McAfee would play the focal character in Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee, a film by Impact Future Media, to whom McAfee himself sold his life rights.
That's right, two John McAfee movies. The major studio exploit and the independent project with questionable objectivity, as it always goes. See, the dueling biopics phenomenon is not one unique to the case of McAfee. Recent years have seen competing forces vie for the presentation of a shared subject's life story — a couple of instances are even in the works presently. Is there always a clear winner to the showdown, or are we left torn between contrasting portraits of great figures? Take a gander at what we think:
John McAfee
The Studio Movie: John McAfee's Last Stand adaptation (no official title)
Source Material: Wired article "John McAfee's Last Stand"
Creative Forces: Unknown
The Independent Film: Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee
Source Material: McAfee's life rights
Creative Forces: Unknown
The Champion: Yet to be determined, although we can bet that the latter, which McAfee himself is at least marginally involved on a production level, might be a little skewed away from objectivity... which could, actually, be quite interesting.
Alfred Hitchcock
The Studio Movie: Hitchcock
Source Material: Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello
Creative Forces: Director Sacha Gervasi; stars Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett Johansson
The HBO Film: The Girl
Source Material: Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies by Donald Spoto
Creative Forces: Director Julian Jarrold; stars Toby Jones and Sienna Miller
The Champion: The Girl is a far superior, more intricate and compelling film to the bland Hollywood output
Steve Jobs
The Studio Movie: Steve Jobs
Source Material: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (authorized biography)
Creative Forces: Writer Aaron Sorkin
The Independent Film: jOBS
Source Material: Unknown
Creative Forces: Director Joshua Michael Stern; stars Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad
The Champion: As much as we like Gad in costume as the Woz, we have to bet on the Sorkin power for this one.
Linda Lovelace
The Sundance Premiere: Lovelace
Source Material: Unknown
Creative Forces: Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman; stars Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sharon Stone
The Muddling-in-Oblivion Machination: Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story
Source Material: Unknown
Creative Forces: Director/writer Matthew Wilder; stars Malin Akerman, Matt Dillon, and Harold Perrineau
The Champion: Another TBD, but Sundance provides us with some very favorable thoughts about the former.
And one from the archives...
Truman Capote
The Studio Movie: Capote
Source Material: Capote by Gerald Clarke
Creative Forces: Director Bennett Miller; stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Clifton Collins, Jr.
The Independent(ish) Film: Infamous
Source Material: Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Careerby George Plimpton
Creative Forces: Director/writer Douglas McGrath; Toby Jones (again!), Sandra Bullock, and Daniel Craig
The Champion: The Oscars were right on this one: Miller and Hoffman's rendition of the story was a dazzling feat — while Infamous, too, is a film worth your while, it doesn't quite live up to the spectacle that a character like Truman Capote deserves

Title

Reprised role of Officer Tyrol on the Sci-Fi Channel’s acclaimed hit series "Battlestar Galactica"

Landed the role of Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol in the Sci-Fi Channel’s miniseries remake of "Battlestar Galactica"

Feature film debut, "Final Destination 2"

Landed first small role in Showtime’s original TV-movie "The Inspectors 2"

Had a small role in Mike Bender’s "Man About Town"

Summary

One of the hardest working actors in Hollywood North, Vancouver native Aaron Douglas caught the eye of sci-fi fans as the rugged Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol on the Sci Fi Channel's acclaimed hit series "Battlestar Galactica," (2004- ). After racking up a long list of smaller roles in films such as "X2" (2003) and "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004), it was his nuanced performance as the loyal hanger deck chief on "Galactica" that allowed him to truly grow as an actor. Taking on a more prominent position in the plot of the series during its fourth season, Douglas was primed for future success.